The effort was far better than what we've seen earlier this season (for a game following a decent effort against a better team) but that is the only positive.
A couple of points that cost us:
Although we played a far better team game offensively tonight than we have in the past there still were a number of lapses (too many to list) where we reverted to stupid play. If we avoid those lapses, we a) never would have needed to recover from a nine point second half deficit and would have built a sufficient lead to withstand a very late comeback or b) we would have been able to close the game out in regulation if we hadn't avoided the nine point deficit or c) we would have been able to close out the first overtime if we hadn't avoided the lapses referenced in (a) or (b) or d) we wouldn't have fallen behind by two possessions in the second overtime.
Our best offensive lineup tonight included a player (Anderson) the opponent knows is no threat to score. This makes it considerably easier to defend the three primary scorers (Adams, Larrier, Vital).
The perimeter defense still was slow to react far too often, even with the handful of quality stretches of defense. Add to this that we could have fouled the dribbler (who passed the ball for the game tying three) with under five seconds remaining and no possibility for him to get a shot off, giving Tulsa only the hope of a make with a miss then a put back to extend the game.
The low hoops IQ (both offensively and defensively), lack of quality depth in the backcourt and shortage of scorers is all on the head coach and his staff. A win tonight would not have been anything monumental. It would merely have been a small step in the right direction, with many, many more needed over the next couple of months.
